The Cult and the Dead
by Marner
Summary: A girl stumbles across an evil cult with a plan to destory the world. This was my first story ever written for this website! Contains Some Graphic Material! Hope you enjoy! Complete!
1. The Beginning of Death

THE COLT AND THE DEAD

Chapter 1. The Boring Life

(The _italic _part of the story is dedicated to the original zombie horror flicks!)

Well what can I say about my life here in America. Every day is a long stretch of dullness in which nothing really seems to happen. Couldn't care-less. I just like to sit back and watch all the little fools run around with their busy lives and stupid errands. My name is Charlie or Charlene. I am average sized, in every form, and a brunette. I am pretty but not glamorous enough to get noticed. I am sitting in the back of my class room watching the teenagers acting like kids.

"Okay class," Mrs. Harpwell shouted,"the bell has rung! We need to start class." No-one listened to her or the ringing bell. She pulled out her whistle and I covered my ears. She blew as hard as she could. Everyone shut up instantly and looked at her."Now class," Mrs. Harpwell began her lesson on the double helix. I just sat and listened. I watched several of the kids sneak papers around and other things that should be kept discreet.

The lunch bell rang, and not a moment too soon. Half the class was asleep, even Mrs. Harpwell was tired of being heard. The class ran out in a rush of fury as if they were on fire! I waited for a bit, then left. As I was walking down the hall to the lunch room I heard someone yell my name.

"Charlene! Charlene!"I turned around to see Leslie. She was a beautiful girl, in her own way. She tended to get on my nerves, but I never complained. I paused and turned around to see her running towards me. I gave a low, disgruntled moan and waited.

"Hey Charlene, how's my lil' goth girl doing?"

"Fine. How's the blonde going?"I asked with a little bit of annoyance.

"Great! Are you going to the party tonight? It is supposed to be a blast!"

"No thanks. I have other things to do. If, you don't mind." I caught her trying to go through my backpack. She is so noisy, but then who isn't. "Sorry, just looking to see if anything out of place." I rolled my eyes as she went on to talk about my look and how PETA is the bomb! I can understand about animal rights, but the way she talks about it makes me wonder about her.

I got in line to et my usual chili cheese fries. I didn't know why, but it was the only thing in school that I could stand to eat. It was actually good. Leslie got her salad and milk. She was a vegetarian to help save the animals. A humane thing to do, just surprised she's actually doing it. I grabbed the nearest seat I could. Leslie sat down next to me. I couldn't make out half of what she was saying. Out of now where someone pulled on my hair!

I turned to see Roberta. She was a nice person, when it suited her. Otherwise she usually beat me up for laughs. Hard to believe we were friends. She sat as far away from Leslie as possible. They couldn't stand each other and would probably kill each other if left alone.

The day went on and I pretended everything was normal. Roberta told me she'd by later to go over homework. I walked down my street and watched a group of kids. They were huddled around something. I didn't really care, except for the gnawing bit of curiosity that took hold of me. I looked over one of the boy's shoulders and saw a person. She was on the ground and looked like she had been bitten! I just shrugged my shoulders, and figured it had to do with the dalmatian next door. I walked on as the ambulance turned the coroner.

I made it home without anyone yelling my name. I went into my bedroom and looked around. No-one was home. The only sign of life was the letter on the fridge. 'Pasta in the bowl. Be home at 8:00.' They went to the casino again. We were gonna fall into debt soon if they kept going. I fell on my bed and allowed the letter to fall on the ground. I opened my window and looked at the graveyard. The only thing I liked about my home was how close we were to the graveyard.

It was a grim site for most, but I enjoyed it. I got up and walked to my bathroom. I got the master bedroom, because my mom was afraid of having a site of the graveyard. It didn't bother me. I turned on my shower and made sure the water was warm. I walked back into my room to get a change of cloths.

I sat in the moving chair and looked at myself in the mirror. My pale complexion, from the make-up, and the dark eyes, mascara and eye liner. I liked being a gothic, it was entertaining. Even if my mom didn't like it. I opened my drawer and pulled out a black shirt and black jeans. I saw my hidden tongue ring. I had to hide it so Tammy could wear it at her prom. I didn't have enough courage to get a piercing myself, but always thought of getting my hand pierced. I also didn't have enough courage to tell Tammy, or anyone else, no. If I did, I wouldn't be in trouble so much. I sighed and looked out my window.

I saw a lady and her husband carrying flowers. They walked to 'OLD MANNY'S' gravestone. I had paid several visits the graveyard and knew the gravestones very well, at least the names. The husband was in his mid thirties and had look of tiredness on his face. His wife was thine, with a long neck, and was around the same age. I sighed and went into my bathroom to take my shower.

* * *

"_Bert," Darla yelled at her husband,"We need to get going. If you wanna make your party at the Cheveller's._ "_But honey,"Bert moaned," do we have to be here. She was an old hag that no-one ever liked anyway." "That's besides the point. She deserves our respect!"_

_Bert never liked Manny. She was his wife's mother who did nothing but make their lives miserable. She yelled and complained every second of the day. He would give anything to be the one who killed her. To bad the burglars got to her first._ _Darla made them take her in and take of her during her last years of life._

_They walked up to the gravestone that marked Manny's final resting place. "Okay," Bert muttered," lets hurry up and get out of here. This place gives me the creeps." "Just a second, Berti." Bert squinted his eyes at the sound of Berti. Manny used to call him that._

'_Berti boy! Where's my food. How dare you make an old woman starve to death in this retched place!' Bert would give her her food and listen to her complain about him, of all things. He had to do everything for her. No matter how foolish or demeaning it was. _

_He sighed at the thought. Darla stood up and said a little prayer. "Are you done yet, honey?" Darla fell into shock at he sight of something in the distance. "Bert!" She grabbed his arm. "Whats that?" Bert narrowed his eyes to see the distant image."It's just a man. He looks hurt. Stay here, honey." _

_Bert walked up the hill to see the man. The man was tall and very pale. He couldn't be no more than twenty or so. He was thin and looked handsome enough."Sir, Sir! Are you all right? Sir!" The young man just moaned and collapsed. Bert ran over to him. The young man had been bitten by something. Bert turned him over and saw into his vacant eyes. He was dead, he had to be. Bert sighed and closed his eyes_. _The man got up and bit him. _

_Bert screamed and pulled his arm free of the man. He watched the young man slowly get up. Bert was at a loss for what to do. He heard his wife screaming from fear. He ran down to her quickly."We need to get out of here Darla!" They ran to their car and saw a few more walking around the streets. They got in and rushed as far away as they could get!_

* * *

Charlene didn't hear anything that happened. Her shower was on and that covered the screams. She got out in thirty minutes. She felt relaxed and refreshed. She got dressed and went into the living room. She turned on the television and saw a news report talking about zombies or something like that."Another horror flick. Hm...Oh well." She changed the channel and kept finding similar things on. She put on her favorite DVD, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Freddy's Revenge. She loved to watch the idiot kids get killed, over and over again. She looked at the clock on her wall and saw that it was 7:45. Roberta wasn't there yet. "Oh well. Maybe she'll be here tomorrow." She went on watching her DVD and waiting. Waiting for anyone to show up. 


	2. The Caroline Plaza

**THE DEAD AND THE CAROLINE PLAZA**

_**Chapter 2**_

I had fallen asleep without knowing it. I woke to the loud sound of an alarm and someone screaming outside my house. "Hm... sounds like something exciting is actually happening," I muttered under my breath. I stretched a little and yawned. I looked over at our Felix clock, 5:00."Well...guess I'd better get ready for school," I yawned," not that I want to."I walked to my bedroom and was hoping that I hadn't forgotten to do any homework.

I opened my drawer and pulled out a black pair of jeans and a black T-shirt with the Nightmare Before Christmas on it. I looked at myself in the mirror and saw a wretched creature looking back at me. "Gee's I really need more sleep." I turned quickly at the sound of scratching t my window. "Now who can that be?" I said to myself. I walked over to my window and listened. I still heard scratching and someone moaning. "Hm...," I said and opened my curtain.

There were several people at my window trying to get inside. They had cuts that appeared to be bit marks and a few looked as if they were decomposing. "I didn't know it was Halloween already?" I remarked and giggled. 'Who would have guessed that the movies would come true?'I thought. 'Oh well, time to have some fun.'

I walked into my den and pulled out the Lee Harvey Oswald gun. I also took a butcher knife, that I got from the kitchen, and some matches. I took my water bottle and placed it in it's carrier case that hung around my waist. The butcher knife was in my pocket and the gun hung around my back. I grabbed my car keys and made for the front door. "Time for me to live," I said as I opened the front door quickly. I always wanted to kill some people and have some action in my life.

I looked at our pathetic town. They were running like little rabbits. 'They ought to know better by now,' I thought to myself. I saw the nearest zombie. He was tall, thin man with a huge bit on his juggler. His eye's were a piercing blue. He turned and looked at me. He began to walk my way slowly and began to pick up speed as he went. 'This is gonna be fun,' I thought. Once he was only two inches from me, I used my gun on him, blew his head right off. "See you Hell, mother fucker!" I shouted and laughed.

I moved quickly to my garage, I had to go left. A few more tried to attack me, a little girl and a woman. I shot the woman in the head. I missed on the girl, but still got her in the leg. I lifted my gun and kept her in focus. I shot at her again, and didn't miss. I made it to our garage and pulled the door up. It opened and I had a small shock when I saw my parents. My mom was eating my dad, or what was left of him. She looked up at me, I lifted my gun and shot her. It had to be done. I paused for a second to mourn her passing. I turned around and shot a few more that were running for me.

I ran into the garage. I pulled out a can of oil and got in my car. I put the key in the ignition and turned the key. I rolled my window down a bit and drove out of my driveway. I kept on hand on the steering wheel and poured the oil outside of my window onto the street. I drove slowly to make sure I did a proper job. I stopped at the end of my street at the stop sign. I lit a match and threw it outside onto the oil. I drove off quickly and hit a zombie man along the way. The entire blew in flames.

I speed on hitting as many as I could. I kept count in my mind of how many I hit.'Now for the twelfth,' I thought. I rammed into a zombie girl and she flipped in the air. "Twenty points for me," I shouted. I drove on and turned left onto Elm Street and Thirteenth Street. Oddly enough, Elm Street was full of children. "What a coincidence," I said," just like in that movie." I t didn't go so well on Elm Street. The kids swarmed the car and would not let go! I speed as fast as I could and swerved uncontrollably. I lost a few, but one little boy was persistent to hold on. I did a 180 spin, I crashed into a light post, only the rear. The car gave out though. I tried to start the car, but it was no use. "Damn, damn, double damn."

I looked outside the passenger window and saw something of interest. I saw two half naked women and one half naked man. 'They found the right job,' I thought, 'judging by the bodies they have.' I sighed and got out of the car carefully. The kids were begging to run for me and I managed to shot a few as I went around my car. I ran to the back end of my car and opened the gas tank. I lit a match and threw it inside the tank and ran! I fell to the ground from the force of the explosion. Once the fire died down I looked back up. "That was sweet!" I always loved explosions.

I picked myself up and dusted my cloths off. I looked around and saw a woman running from a man zombie. I shot the man and walked into the grass. I turned to see the Caroline Plaza. It was similar to a mall but not the same thing. I ran up the tiny hill and headed for the plaza. Out of no where I was grabbed! I quickly pulled out my butcher knife and stabbed the zombie in the head. She fell down dead, "That'll show you to mess with me," I muttered. I turned to see a few zombies running behind me. I quickly put the knife back in my pocket and ran as fast as I could to the Plaza.

I made it to the top and began to run downhill. I tripped over a small rock and tumbled down the hill. 'That was a trip, 'I thought, ' certainly faster than running.' I got back up and continued down my path. I shot a few that began to attack me from the sides. I got one in the head, but the other I hit in the neck. The bullet shot caused the zombie's neck to hang to the side. I took another shot at him and missed again. I kept running to the Plaza, only across the street now, while the zombie crept closer to me.

I paused and turned to face him. I shot again and hit him in the head this time. "Finally," I said sarcastically. I'm good at shooting, just not while in motion. I looked behind me and saw several zombies up the hill. I went back to running for the plaza. I got onto the street and began to make my way to the other side.

Out of no where this car came speeding and nearly hit me. They swerved just enough to miss me. I kept running as the car went on down the street. I made it to the sidewalk and ran through the parking lot. I shot two more that were just standing around. A couple tried to get me, but I shot them down first. I managed to cripple one. I made it to the plaza doors. I banged pulled the handle, the door didn't budge. I banged on the door and shouted. No-one answered.

I turned around and shot a few more that nearly got me. I tried to fire again, but the gun froze. I leaned against the door as I saw the zombies closing in on me. "Well," I said," it was a good life while it lasted." Suddenly I flew backwards and into the Caroline Plaza. I looked up to see a woman. I couldn't quite see what she looked like, the plaza was in darkness. She locked the door and turned to look at me. "Who are you?"


	3. People in the PLaza

CHAPTER 3: PEOPLE IN THE PLAZA

I was on the floor with a lady covered in darkness. I hesitated to answer her. "Who are you?" She demanded again, this time she pointed the rifle right in my face. "Um...I'm...a Charlene or Charlie for short. Who are you ma'am?" I responded quickly. She lowered her rifle and moved closer to me. "I am Jennifer Collins." She walked past me and to one of clothing racks. I watched her until she was out of sight and picked myself up. I was abler to see into the small department store. A small bit of light was visible through the roof. The racks were full of cloths and I saw a small group of people in the distance.

"Hey girl," someone said from the back of the room," what's happenin'?"

"I think I figured it out!" A woman shouted from somewhere. Suddenly the lights went on and blinded me. I blinked a few times and was finally able to see everybody. There were six people in the back, including Jennifer. Two girls and four guys. "That solved it I think," a woman said coming in from the right side. Seven people in total count now.

"What's up with all that stuff girl? planning a hist or something?" The man who was shouting was a tall black man, slender in appearance. He wore a business type outfit that looked gangsterish. "No, I'm just trying to stay alive. Aren't you," I responded. "Of course, I wouldn't be here if I wasn't," he said and laughed.

I walked towards them and they watched me carefully. I knew they were spoked about me coming in out of no where and were a bit curious as to why I showed up all of a sudden. "D o I scare you guys?" "No, not at all," Another tall man blurted out. "Have you been bitten? Anywhere at all?" One of the girls asked nervously. I paused and looked at them. "No,"I said quietly," I haven't been infected."

"We ought to know each other then," Jennifer butted in. "As you know, I'm Jennifer." "I'm Daimon," the black guy said. "I am Carren," she said and shook my hand. "And I am Rus or Rustle. Which ever you choose.""I am Mark and this is Peter," Mark motioned to his left side the a small nervous man. "He don't talk much, shy you know." I nodded. "And I am Tammy," she shook my hand quickly," I am the engineer if you like." "Now who are you?" Rustle demanded. "I am Charlie. Is that everyone?" "Yea, but I think there was one more," Tammy responded," I think he's lost or something. I'm not sure."

"Now that we know everyone, I think we ought to board down the place. Wouldn't you agree?" I asked, to make sure everyone wanted to do the same."Yea, but how? I don't want to go anywhere alone,"Carren squeaked out. "We won't have to, this is a plaza isn't it? We just split up into two groups that go opposite ways. Since there are seven of us w can have a group of three and one of four." Mark and Peter stood together holding hands, apparently they weren't going to be separated."How 'bout this," I said louder so I could be clearly heard," Peter, Mark, Carren and Rustle will be one group." "Okay, fine," said Rustle," I don't mind." "Rustle," I said to try and control his frustration. "Yea what?" "Pick the way you want to go." "My group will go right, you can go left." "Fine."

We all went our separate ways. I went with Tammy, Daimon, and Jennifer down the left side. The doors were all connected next to each other. The side door lead to the storage room, and that lead to another store. We were In a small food court. "Sweet," Daimon remarked," food." He went straight behind a counter and pulled out a bag of chips. "I think we are lucky that this place is mostly wood and not glass," Tammy said. "I'm not so sure about that," I whispered to myself. I knew how strong they could be if they really wanted to be.

I walked down to a counter, everyone else seemed to be doing the same, and decided to try and find food. I came to a Mcdonald's counter. I went behind the counter and saw a made hamburger on the back counter. I didn't eat, just as a precaution. I became distracted by the sound of some low noise in the distance. I pulled up my gun slightly and made my way to the noise. The others didn't seem to care or notice anything else other than food. I continued to walk towards the noise. I walked slowly and tried not gain any attention to myself, it might be nothing to worry about. I didn't want to end being embarrassed in the end.

The noise led me to a tiny closet in between Mcdonald's and Dairy Queen. Probably a storage room or something. I walked over to it carefully and opened it carefully. I looked inside and didn't see anything. I sighed and decided it was probably a mouse or something. I began to turn away but paused at a sound of ruffling. I looked over my shoulder to see if there something there. Nothing happened. "Hey Char' we got some chocolate!" Daimon shouted. I took one step forward and was instantly knocked off my feet.

I flipped my body around quickly and with great force. I managed to get myself facing the ceiling. The zombie ran straight for me again. I barley managed to keep him from bitting my neck. "Isn't anyone going to help me?" I shouted as loud as I could to be heard over the zombie. The zombie had bitten in several places. He had blue piercing eyes and blonde hair that fell a slightly over his face. I struggled to keep him off me. Jennifer rushed over to the rescue. She leapt over the Dairy Queen counter and pulled the zombie off of me. He turned and bit Jennifer in the arm. I stood quickly and shot him in the back. He fell to the ground from the force of the gunshot. I fired another shot at the back of his head. He stopped fighting for food but was still twitching.

"Can you make it stop moving?" Tammy asked, she seemed nervous around a twitching zombie. "Maybe," I responded," do you want me to find out?" Tammy nodded. I fired another shot at its head. It was still moving in spasms. I fired two more times, just to be sure. It lied motionless on the ground. "That's the bloke who went missing earlier," Jennifer said. "He bit you Jennifer." I muttered to her in a calm and some what hostile voice. "What should we do," Carren was nearly panicked and it was in her voice. "I'm not going to stand near you anymore,"Daimon said sarcastically," I'm not gonna get my head blown off."


	4. Jennifer

**Hello there, well I decided to restart my story again. It is still going to be gory in some spots, but what else would you expect from a zombie story? My friend reminded me about it, and I decided to see if I get a better turnout this time around. I hope you enjoy it! Sorry if my grammar is off a bit.**

The argument about Jennifer wasn't going very well. Everyone had different ideas, and, as always, there was someone in the group that didn't like it. I had my own idea, but no-one would go for it. I just sat there and listened to their ideas and considered them. I decided it was time to butt in and tell them my idea.

"Well she is bitten. I've seen what happens after you get bitten. People turn into those zombies. Maybe we can try prey and hope that she makes it," Mark said.

"How would that work? If it is for sure that she will die, then why should we risk all our lives, just for her? Besides she won't be any use to anyone in her condition," Rustle said.

"Well," I finally cut in," I have an idea. It is a new concept and it may not even work." I paused and looked over at Jennifer. Jennifer was sitting at a table in the food court. It was small, and everything we said, she could hear.

"What is it?" Carren asked. "Do you think you can help keep her alive?"

"I'm not sure. I never heard anyone doing it before. See she was bitten in her arm. This zombienism is a disease that infects the body, right?"

"Right," Tammy responded," what's your point?"

"Well it has to work its way through the body and kill it off. What would happen if we simply stopped the infection from spreading?"

"And how are we going to do that?" Rustle asked.

"Well, we could cut off her arm. That way the disease is forced to stop. It won't go through the body causing her death. I know it's a little sick and might be painful, but is it any worse then what might happen if we don't do anything about it?" I asked. I looked around at the faces of the people in the plaza. I got mixed messages.

"I guess that could work," Tammy said to break the pause," I have never heard of it before, but…"

"Oh let's do it and get it over with. We can find out if it works or not!" Jennifer shouted.

Everyone laughed, and then there was another moment of paused silence.

"So, are you all in? I can tell Jennifer is." I said.

Everyone nodded in agreement. Charlene sighed and went behind the McDonald's counter. I looked around for a knife. I wish they hadn't taken away my weapons. They didn't trust me yet. At least they left me my gun. It was only to make sure I wouldn't be helpless.

I wasn't sure where to look. I pulled out all the drawers and looked through the cabinets; I found a butcher knife way in the back. It looked greasy and there was some blood on it. I wondered how the blood got on there. I looked for a sink. I found one; it was in a storage room. The door was opened and on my left hand side. I walked in and washed it thoroughly. I dried it off and held it up to the light. It glistened and I could see my reflection. I looked terrible.

"Well," Jennifer shouted," what's taking so long?"

I laughed a little; she made me laugh at the strangest things. I just wish I knew how she did it. I walked out and jumped over the counter. I walked over the Jennifer, holding the knife.

"Are you sure you really want to go through with this?" I asked her.

She nodded. She removed the white napkin she was holding over her wound. It was deep, and blood was still protruding from it. I pulled out the chair next to her and took my seat. I was nervous about doing it. I wasn't trained for this sort of thing. I didn't want end up making a mistake and make her feel more pain then she needed to. The cut was on her forearm, which is the part of the arm, below the elbow. I sighed nervously.

"Where should I cut?" I asked. I hoped my nervousness didn't show.

Peter walked over and stood beside me. "Cut it from the right below the shoulder. I am…was a doctor's assistant. The infection probably spread to the biceps already."

I nodded. Peter pointed to the location on her arm to cut. I took a deep breathe, I wished he Peter would do it. I didn't want to place any pressure on him. He seemed nervous enough as it is. I held the knife up a little. I blinked and felt a few beads of sweat on my forehead. Jennifer turned her head around. I dropped the butcher knife swiftly, through her right arm. It only made it halfway through. Before there were any more questions, I took another swing at it. I felt like a wood chopper who was chopping wood.

_Chop…Chop…Chop._

It finally came off and Jennifer was screaming from the pain. Some of the blood had squirted on my face. It didn't bother me any. I didn't mind a little blood once in a while. Peter had quickly placed some napkins around the cut I had made. He made sure that the blood was staying inside her shoulder.

I stood up and walked into a nearby bathroom. I knew Peter would be trying to help Jennifer. I took a deep sigh and turned on the sink. I let the water run and I looked up at my image in the mirror.

"This is it," I said to myself. "This is the moment your life changes forever."


	5. The Colt

Well, not a whole lot happened after. I knew that they all looked at me with disgust. I began to think about all that had happened. It took this long to finally have a hold on me. I remember me and my friends would talk about this day. We even talked about how we would kill all the zombies. I just never thought it would actually happen. The thought of it began to make me feel a little depressed. I knew this day was coming, so I wasn't going to let it affect me. If it does, I won't show it to anyone else.

I was polishing my gun; it was just a shot gun. Useful, but it wouldn't be if I didn't reload soon. I looked at each of their faces; they weren't too thrilled to have me here. I wasn't thrilled to be there either. I just wondered if my friends were safe, or if they were even alive for that matter.

I looked over at Jennifer. She was staring down at the stub of her right arm. I wondered how I could do it. How could I have gone through with it? At least now we can find out if it stops the virus or not. I began to wonder if I could keep myself alive, or if I could survive through this ordeal.

I got up and walked through the food court. I walked around the small McDonald's kitchen. I saw the butcher knife. It was just sitting there on the counter, waiting for something. Something to happen, some kind of action I assume. I picked it up and stuffed it into my pants pocket. I used my shirt to cover the handle. I looked ahead to see most of the wall, opposite of where I was standing, covered in cheap wooden boards. I jumped over the counter and walked towards the other wall.

Why would most of this wall be covered in boards? I pulled at the board closest to me. It took a lot of force, but I was finally able to break it free. I nearly fell backwards from the force. I dropped the board onto the ground and looked through the small opening. It was double boarded, so I wasn't able to see much. There were a few small holes here and there. A hazy sunlight came through the glass. I bent down a little and looked through the glass.

It was a gloomy day with heavy clouds. Wahoo, I thought. I liked dark and depressing days. I was a little surprised, though, to find a group of people wearing black hoods standing in a circle. I couldn't hear anything, I could just watch.

They moved out of my sight, but I could see a person lying atop a table. He was around his mid twenties maybe, he had a huge gash on his head. Blood was dripping from it and falling to the ground. If he was dead, he very recently died. He moved a little. Oh, he's a lived, I thought. I saw that he and the group were enclosed by Carolin Plaza. It must have been the outdoor food court. It was full of tables and a few dying trees.

The man opened his eyes and held out a hand. I hope he doesn't see me, I told myself. The group all moved in around him. Their long velvet cloaks swayed slightly. I wanted one! They all slowly raised their arms, they each held hands. The sky grew dark and the clouds moved closer together. I heard some thunder and heavy rain.

They slowly backed away from the victim and let go of each other's hands. Their arms were still raised toward the darkened sky. I could finally see the man. He gasped at the horrid sight! The man was cut open from the nape of his neck down to his waist. One of the members of the group stood right beside the body and was holding his heart. I saw that it was still beating.

"What the fuck?" I muttered as I watched this grim sight. I jumped when someone grabbed my shoulder. I nearly screamed, but managed to hold it in.

It was Damion",Whatca looking at over here?"

"Nothing really, just looking to see what's out there," I said quickly.

"Mhmm. I don't see why you would want to look at there, but that's up to. Oh, by the way, you might want to get some new clothes."

I looked at my clothes and saw they were covered in blood. He was right, I need to change. I nodded and left. I walked down the other end of the Plaza. I found a clothing store. Unfortunately it was full of preppy happy people clothes. I hate these kinds of stores, why couldn't the Plaza have a Hot Topic or something like that. I looked around trying to find something I could wear, or at least something that would cover my bottom.

How can people where skirts this short? I asked myself. I found some black pants with a silver flower design. It came complete with a matching black belt with silver buckle. I looked around for a top, it wasn't very easy to find one that didn't show off my chest. I found this nice black shirt with long sleeves that had a slash in them, and a feathery in bordering with a small pink flower. I rolled my eyes and pulled of the feathers and pink rose. I looked around a little more to find something that would cover my boobs at least. I found a black transparent shirt; it had a design of small black roses all finding ways of linking together. I changed in the dressing room.

It was a small box with a large mirror. I changed quickly and looked at myself in the mirror. I smiled and felt proud that I found some dark clothes in a preppy store! I placed the knife in my belt. Then I opened the door and began to walk out of the store. I paused at the sound of something hitting the door a little ways down the same wall. I took in a deep breath and walked over to the door.

It lead to another store in the plaza that I didn't go into yet. The door shook for a while, and then stopped all motion. I nearly grabbed the handle but pulled back at a sudden bash against the door. Nothing happened for a while. I placed my hand on the door handle. I took in a deep sigh and a hand suddenly burs through the wooden door.

The hand was rotting flesh and cold. It grabbed my wrist and the creature on the other side was struggling to break in the rest of the way. I pulled out my knife and cut off its hand. Te hand flapped for a while then stopped moving. The door suddenly flew open and the man I had seen earlier came running towards me. He was…a zombie.


	6. A small breakin and Hope of survival

I didn't know how to react, I just saw him die. Those people killed him, and now he's a zombie! I shook my head as he ran towards me to try and find myself again. I needed to calm down enough to kill him off. He came charging forward, only inches away. I grabbed my small knife and sliced through his throat! He still came towards me, only a little slower. I held the knife in my fist and jammed it into his thick skull. Blood began to trickle from his head. He fell to his knees, then on the ground face first.

I bent over him and pulled the knife out of his skull. I placed back in my belt quickly, and then flipped his dead body over. His front was slit open. I could see most of his major organs that managed to stay in. I noticed the heart was gone and the skin was yellow. I didn't understand any of this, I finally felt myself becoming a freaked out.

I heard some gunshots fired a ways off. I took in a deep breathe and tried to regain myself. After a few more were fired, I ran towards the sound of the shots. I ran past to the stores and into the food court. The windows had been shattered and zombies were trying to get in. 'How is this possible?' I asked myself. 'Now they will really hate me for pulling off the few pieces of cardboard.'

Peter was standing behind Mark. Peter clung to Mark while Mark was shooting. Jennifer was trying to shot from her other hand, she wasn't doing to well. Tammy was right beside Jennifer, shooting. Damion was hiding behind a counter and firing shots. Carren hid beside Damion, only she was doing more whimpering than firing. I saw Rustle boarding up the window. It seemed nearly imposable with all of the trying to get in at once.

I ran behind the Panda Express counter and pulled the gun from Carren's hands. I fired a few shots from behind the counter.

"We need to board up that window!" I shouted. "We need to help Rustle!" I ran towards Rustle firing the best I could. I managed to get a few, but there were more then we could handle at once. 'How did they get inside the plaza anyway?' I asked as I came within inches of the window.

I grabbed a board and place it against the sides of the window. Rustle began to hammer in the nails. Mark came and started nailing in the other side. I grabbed another board and held it up to make an x shape. Once they began to hammer that one in, I fired a few shots and nearly avoided being bitten. I managed to put up another board. 'This would have been easier if they weren't trying to bite us!'

I heard shots being fired all around me! After we had placed several boards up, they began trying to break them down. Tammy and Damion came and began helping. He was shooting and holding in the boards. It took several minutes to get the other boards up; even then we knew it wasn't safe. Damion and Rustle placed a few vending machines in front of it. I only hoped it would hold up.

We all waited for the two boys to return in a Beauty Saloon store. I enjoyed pumping the chair up and down. Mark and Peter sat next to each other, Carren was sobbing in her chair. Jennifer was just sitting staring at her missing arm. Tammy was sitting in the back corner. Rustle and Damion walked inside the room, and took their seats.

"Why were you messing with the boards Charlene?" Damion asked. "You could have killed us."

"I'm sorry; I didn't know there were zombies in the outdoor food court."

"We should have told you. We had to fight for this plaza, we were shopping when it happened," Jennifer said. "I was here with my husband. We were looking at clothes when we heard some noise coming from a dressing stall. Two guards went to investigate and kicked the door open. We saw a girl; she was covered in blood and pale. Her eyes were piercing blue and she hissed at us. She ran and bit the guards, infecting them. Before long there was chaos and people were coming back from the dead. A few of us managed to hide in this saloon. We decided to fight against them. We managed to force them into the outdoor eatery. We boarded up the windows to keep them out. I lost my husband to them. Everything is gone now. We are the only survivors of that incident. Several of us died trying to place them in a confined area. Then you came just out of the dust. You came and killed my husband after he became a zombie. That's why we couldn't help you right away, he was sort of our leader."

There was a moment of silenced pause. I had never felt so terrible before. I killed her husband.

"There may be other survivors, out there I mean," Mark said in a low voice. I could hear the sadness in it.

"How could anyone survive that tyranny?" Carren asked.

"We should listen to the radio. If there were any survivors they would let us know," Damion said. Damion stood up and grabbed the small radio. He plugged it into the wall. He started looking for a radio station that would work, only static came through.

"Aha," Damion said as he words began to come through. "I found a station."

Damion sat down quickly and we all listened closely. The transmission was full of static.

"The zombies have taken over Yuma. If you come into contact with one, shoot it in the head. It'll kill them instantly. There is a safe zone in Tucson. We are currently hiding in the military base. We are planning to move some to Tucson and several other safe zones. We know there are other survivors out there, hiding in different locations around Yuma. We are going to send a bus around to pick up any survivors we can find. We plan to stop by Wal-Mart first, and then make our way through the rest of the town."

The transmission was lost. I felt a small bit of hope fill inside of me. We may be saved after all.


	7. Disapperances

It had been less than a day after the broad cast. Two days had passed since the virus hit. I went to the top of the roof to keep watch. I hadn't noticed how close we were to Wal-Mart, which meant that we would be picked up rather quickly. I had a perfect view of the Wal-Mart roof, that's how close we were. If only I was a little closer to where I would be able to see the buses head out, then I would feel better. I found a pair of binoculars so I could any or all action within fifty square feet of me, or so I believed.

I looked at the Wal-Mart roof. I often saw people walking around over there. Lots of action, I could tell. I just found it slightly difficult to see the people clearly. I couldn't tell what was going on, but it seemed to be chaos down there. I felt in a sense, I only hoped the buses would make it.

Damion ran up to the roof. He looked panicked.

"There has been an attack on the military base!" He shouted frantically. He stopped in front of her.

"You're not serious are you?" I asked.

"I am, they are sending people out on buses randomly. They are going to be sent off someplace!" He was finally beginning to calm down.

"That means…" I began to say, but stopped.

"It means we're in the shithole." He muttered.

I went back down to the saloon. We had agreed that it would our meeting place, if the time should arise for a needed meeting. We were all silent; I noticed that Jennifer was missing. I hadn't seen her for a few hours either. Peter came running in with Mark right behind him. Peter was out of breath.

"She's gone!" Mark shouted. Everyone was stunned.

"What do you mean gone?" Tammy asked.

Peter held up a small note. "This explains it," Mark said. He handed the note to me; I unfolded it and read it aloud.

"I'm sorry guys, but I have to go. I can't stay here. I'm sorry; I have my reasons, from which I can't explain. You'll find out later, trust me. Just be careful where you step. Sincerely, Jennifer." I folded the note back up and looked at the others. "What do we do now?"

"We can't do anything. We're stuck here," Carren said. She lowered her head into her hands.

"We won't starve here though. The base's plan was ruined. Maybe we can just stay here. There's enough to last us for a few months," Tammy muttered out.

"Yea, but there isn't enough to last us our entire lives, I think we ought to leave," Rustle said.

"I think we need to have one last look around for Jennifer though. If she went outside, we would be able to see her. Besides I was on the roof and I didn't see anyone leave," I said.

"So what will you have us do, stay here and die?" Rustle was getting angry now.

"We're going to die anyway! I doubt that there is such a thing as a safe zone in this world anymore. Every town and city is destroyed! We are safer here, but not for long. I know that for a fact. Besides that, I think her letter is a little fishy. Why would she say to watch our step if everything was fine?"

"She does have a point," Damion said.

"Ok then its settle," Mark said," we'll look around for Jennifer one last time. Then met back here and decide what to do next."

We all nodded and went our own ways. Mark and Peter went together; I was beginning to wonder about them. Tammy went with Rustle and Damion. I went with Carren. Carren and I went to the right, Tammy and her group went to the left. Mark and Peter looked around this small section of the plaza.

Carren and I didn't talk much while we were walking. I don't know how anyone could get along with her anyway. She wasn't any use because she wasn't brave enough to shoot the dead people. I paused as a draft of wind blew one of the nearby doors open. The door closed again with a loud thud. Carren jumped and gave a small squeal. I just stood motionless. Nothing happened, Carren managed to calm down.

"I'm sorry. This whole thing has been terrifying for me. Why did this have to happen to me? I just came to get my hair done. I mean it, my hair needs to be fixed. I remember it, I was getting my hair shampooed and then this man runs inside with other people. He makes go outside to kill those things, it was terrible."

"It was very terrible.. At least you were inside, and didn't have to do much then," I butted in. I had to shut her up somehow. She was just rambling on and on and on. I didn't like ramblers very much, and I hated girly girls. They tended to scare me sometimes.

I nearly jumped at the sound of someone screaming. It was a man's scream. I took a quick glance at Carren, and then I ran toward the sound of the screams. Carren ran behind me. We came to where Mark and Peter were supposed to be looking. The lights were dimming, like a candle does when the flames are fighting the wind. I walked inside the clothing store. It felt a little eerie. Carren stayed by the doorway. I stopped paying attention to her, and I kept looking around.

I looked behind the counter and saw Peter. He was shaking and sweating. I bent down beside him. He seemed terrified of something.

"What's wrong?" I asked quietly.

"They are here. They are here," were the only words he could get out of his mouth. He was in shock.

"Whose here?" I asked. Peter just looked at me stunned.

I heard a loud thud and I looked up over the counter. I saw some of the clothes manikins moving a little. I glanced back at Peter; he was stiffer than a dead body. 'Dead body,' I though to myself quickly. I stood up and walked over toward the manikin display. I held a hand over my knife that I was keeping inside my pants pocket. I took several deep breathes and tried to hide how scared I was. I stood next to the manikin and couldn't see anything out of the ordinary.

A bright light was shinned in my face. I used my arm to block it.

"Charlene," Tammy whispered loudly," is that you?"

"Yea, who else would it be?" I responded.

"Where's Carren?" Tammy asked.

"Isn't she…" I began to ask, but hesitated. I walked over toward the light and saw Tammy.

"Don't tell me you lost her."

"I didn't loose her Tammy." I looked around the store once more. "Okay, maybe I did loose her. So what? She probably chicken out and ran off someplace."

"This is getting weird Damion said.

"Yea, isn't strange how it didn't start getting weird until Charlene came here?" Rustle asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked sharply.

"Let's not worry about that now. Charlene, did you see Peter of Mark in there?" Tammy asked quickly. She was trying to be the peace keeper. I could tell.

"I saw Peter. He was in a state of shock last I checked." I told her trying to sound calm.

"Let's go get him then. We can head back to the saloon after we get him." Tammy said. She walked inside the clothing store. I walked behind, Rustle followed me. Damion went in after a Rustle. Tammy shinned her flashlight behind the counter.

"You said that Peter was back here, didn't you Charlene?" Tammy asked.

"Yea, why?" I asked. Tammy gave me a motion to come over to where she was. I walked over to her. I followed her finger and looked to where I last left Peter. He was…gone.

"You have some explaining to do," Rustle whispered in my ear.


	8. Caught And Caged

We all walked back to the saloon. I felt so nervous and alone now. I knew they were going to blame it all on me! All because things seemed to just happen at the time of my appearance. I bet they are going to kill me or force me to go out to the world of the dead. I placed my hand slightly over my hip to double check on my pocket knife. It was still there and ready for use. Should the need arrive.

I took a seat on one of the tall up and down chairs, whatever they are called. Tammy and Damion sat next to each other, but away from me. Rustle was sitting right behind me. I could tell he was keeping an eye on me. Carren, Mark, or Peter didn't make an appearance. I doubted that we would ever see Jennifer again.

"I assume that we are all here. Those of us still alive anyway," Rustle said.

"I didn't do anything to them. It seems like I did, but I didn't," I responded. I sounded more angry and hurt than scared. I was glade for that.

"Would you mind if we talked without you?" Tammy asked.

I frowned a little. "No, I wouldn't," I said and got up. I walked past Rustle. I was glade I wouldn't have to tell them about the colt people I saw outside not that long ago. I walked out the door and closed it behind me. I didn't want to pry; I had a hunch of what they were going to say. I just walked over to the food court.

It seemed cold and empty. I looked at the wooden boards that covered the broken glass windows. I looked away and walked behind the McDonalds counter. I poured myself something to drink. A coke-a-cola as it was called. Now, it comes in limited portions, which will soon run out. I hopped over the counter and took a sat at one of the nearest tables. The chairs were small steel chairs that were spray painted black.

I sat down thinking of all the events that had just happened. The virus hit, I came here. I cut Jennifer's arm off, then I saw the colt. Soon, people started going missing. It was all happening too soon for my taste. It's only been two days, soon to be three. I hate these damn surprises! Why did it have to happen to me? I took a sip of my tasty coke. I felt myself becoming soothed, just a little.

Why did I have to get blamed for it all anyway? I mean, it could just as easily be one of them. One of them, The thought snapped inside me like a twig, or all of them? Could this all be some deadly game they started, just to see how long until I go insane? If it was only one of them, then who could it be?

That wouldn't explain the colt though. I took a longer sip of my drink. This coke seemed to have a different, more flavorable taste for some reason. I didn't really care much, I took another quick sip. The colt I saw had way too many people in it. I only saw seven people in this plaza. There were way too many that saw outside, on that day. What if they were all in the colt? I just neglected to meet the other members. It could all be some kind of cover up, and they are discussing how long until they get me. Deciding on if they want to use me for some evil sacrifice or something like that. I looked down at my soda, and took the finishing sip.

I slammed the cup on the table. I looked back up at the wooden boards. Maybe the break in wasn't an accident? Maybe the zombies were there to help cover up their secret? My vision soon became blurry. I blinked a few times, but that only gave me a headache. I held my forehead a little, and felt myself becoming sleepy. Oh dammit, I thought quickly before passing out!

_

* * *

__Several people came out from the back doors. They were hooded and cloaked in black velvet. There was a gold trim around the front of the hoods. They all came and surrounded the unconscious corpse of Charlene. She was one of the ones who had made this plaza a safe zone. If you could it safe that is. _

_They moved aside as a few other members came carrying a large portable bed. The few people surrounding her and bent down and picked her body up. They carefully placed her body on the bed. It took four people in total to carry her on the bed. They took her to the back rooms. One of the other members unlocked a silver cage door and held it open. The four members carried her inside and place the portable bed on the ground. They picked up her body and placed it on the larger bed. They rolled up the portable bed and took with them when they left. The other member closed the door and locked it back up again. It wouldn't be too much longer until Charlene would awaken. Their leader was looking forward to it._

* * *

I blinked my eyes for a few minutes to get my vision back into focus. I felt like I was having a hang over. I only had one once, that was after I went to a party I wasn't supposed to go to. After that, I never drank again. I hated the headaches. I took a quick glance around.

"This isn't right," I muttered to myself. I wasn't in the plaza, this couldn't be the plaza. I turned my head to look to my right side. Too fast, I thought to myself. Things went spinning for a little bit, then came back to normal. I sat up slowly and saw some people. They were hooded and cloaked in black. They were the colt!

I could stare. One of them turned and saw me. The person walked up to the cage. The person removed their cloak…I was stunned. It was…Roberta!


	9. Roberta's Plans

"ROBERTA!" I shouted as loud as I could. "WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!" I couldn't explain it, but I was extremely pissed. How could my friend be in a colt, a colt that killed some people and did violent acts? Never mind, I thought quickly to myself.

"Yep, it was all me. Me and my friends," Roberta said.

"What all have you been doing? Why did you decide tot permanently ruin my life?" I felt enraged at her. Not only did she have me in a cage, but she never told me about all this. The least she could have done was ask for my help. How could she not tell me something of this much importance?

"We've been bringing the dead back to life." She responded, trying to sound playful. I hated when she did that, perhaps she neglected to know how serious this was. She killed millions of loved ones, but why?

"Why would you do that?" I asked.

"Because of you," she said. She stopped talking and waited for my question. She liked having the control over me. It was something that she truly enjoyed.

"What do you mean? I don't see what this has to do with me?" I asked. I felt myself calming. I was becoming more curious than angry.

"Do you remember that night at that party? You know the one where you got wasted." I nodded and she continued. "Well I ran into a few people. I was drunk, right along with you. They found me, and I joined their colt. You told me how dull your life was, and we all decided that the end of the world was coming. He told us it was time to move forward."

"Who told you what?" I asked quickly. I needed to know everything.

"Who do you think? I can't believe you're that stupid. I mean you're the horror movie expert. This should be a no brainer." Roberta leaned in closer to me. "Who do you think would people to form a colt?"

"Satan. Damn it! When you talked about that stuff, I didn't think you meant it! How could you keep this a secret from me?" I felt myself getting a little irritated again.

"I knew what you would have done. You would have tried to talk me out of it. Even though your Goth and have an obsession with eyes and blood, you're still religious. You can't fool me. Besides, right now, you have no way out. You can't run from it now. I have chosen you for the next project."

"What is the next project?" I asked her calmly but curiously.

Roberta turned and walked over to a stone bed. I saw Peter lying on top. Jennifer was on the other bed, farthest away from me. Mark was in the middle. Jennifer was having fits or something. A second look, I noticed she was a zombie. Peter and Mark were unconscious. I was beginning to get very worried and scared now. She turned back around to face me.

"You shall become the first ghoul my dear. Part of the dead and the living," she muttered to me. Several of the other members turned to look at me. They walked forward and stopped, so they could stand right beside her.

"What do you mean by a ghoul?" I asked.

"A ghoul is a more advanced version of a zombie. You'll still have a functional brain and body. Only you'll be dead and maybe, you'll have some powers given onto you." Roberta gave me her evil malicious smile. I knew she was serious.

"Will eat people to?" I asked. Roberta found this humorous, for some reason. She threw her head back and laughed. She looked back at me; her smile was begging to fade.

"If you so choose. You will be given an option to eat either the living or the dead. You will be able to walk amongst the dead, as if you were one of them. You can also walk amongst the living, they won't be the wiser. Just be careful what you do with you body. Wouldn't want to damage it and give away the illusion would you."

Roberta turned around and the others did the same. They all walked to where Mark was laying. He blinked his eyes open and looked up at the colt. Mark turned his head to see Peter. Peter awoke and looked over at Peter.

"I love you," Mark said. I could tell that Mark was terrified. I knew Peter was, even though I couldn't see his face. I knew they were romantically involved. If only they didn't have to die. They should be together, running far away from this place. I wish I could have done something. I was trapped, just like they were.

"I love you to Mark."

With those last fatal words, the colt began their ritual. I felt a tear coming from my right eye. I was going to die next. I knew they wouldn't care. They had no emotions; it was taken from them, just like they took my friend. I turned, I couldn't watch this. I closed my eyes as I heard their chanting. I forced my eyes to shut tighter as I heard their screams.

It was too much. I couldn't take it anymore. Who could? I felt enraged at Roberta. I wanted her to pay for what she did. She brought back the dead. She killed several innocent people, her and her colt. They need to pay, and I was going to make sure they did. No matter what the cost was going to be.


	10. My Turn In Hell's Fury

A few days had passed. I spent most of them lying on my bed. I didn't have much else to do. They didn't feed me much. They only gave me their table scraps. I watched them from time to time. They mostly did sacrifices and the sort. I felt lots of hatred, sadness, and fear. I did my best to hide it. I wasn't going to let them think that they had any kind of power over me. I kept thinking of ways to get my revenge. My only option was to break free. I just wish I knew how.

They were doing another ritual again. They had stripped a goat of his flesh. Only the bones were left. They were shaped in the form what it once was. They stood around it in six circles. I had no idea what it meant, and I didn't care to. They were chanting, nothing new there. I stood up and walked over to the front of my cage. I was curious about all this. I think anyone would be.

I could barely see what was going on. There was a small opening between each of the members. I wonder if they did that on purpose, so I could watch. I jumped as the bones made a sudden movement. They rested motionless on the ground for a while, and then they began to move frantically. I couldn't see how they moved around clearly, but I managed to see when they stopped.

They all moved to the side. They turned and looked at me. I looked at he ground. The bones had managed to form a line pointing directly at me. I figure this is the sign that I'm going to die. Two men came toward me. A third was in the front holding the key. Yep, it was.

The front one unlocked the cage and held the door open. I backed away a little. Two of them came walking inside. I felt my pants pocket. My knife was still there. As they came closer to me I place my hand on the handle. They came within inches of me. I pulled out the knife quickly and stabbed the one closest to me. I managed to slice that other's throat.

I ran out of the cage. They weren't reacting the way I thought they would. They seemed calm and serene. As if nothing was happening. Roberta walked towards me. I saw her infamous malicious grin. I ran toward her.

Before I could get within range of cutting her, someone grabbed my shoulder. I was about to turn and slice him, but someone else grabbed my hand and stopped me. He held onto my wrist tightly. He began to tighten his grip. He kept tighting it, I tried to fight the pain but it was too much. I was forced of my knife. His grip loosened a little.

"You don't think we we're that dumb do you?" Roberta said. They had been planning this for a long time. Damn.

I was soon dragged over to the nearest table. I was forced onto the one the Peter woke up on. The one where he was brutally murdered by these people. They chained me by my hands and ankles. I really hate these people.

They soon formed a circle around me and began chanting. I was soon terrified. This is it. I'm going to die, and I can't stop it! Roberta walked over to me holding my knife. She looked at me with a content face. I saw her eyes. They weren't normal. They looked dead. I knew she wasn't dead, she was only soulless. They took her soul away. They took away my friend.

I was soon choking. I felt pain throughout my body. I turned and coughed up some blood. I was choking on my own blood. My insides felt as if they were being pulled apart. I saw a smirk appear on Roberta's face.

"FUCK YOU BITCH!" I shouted. It hurt so much to talk, it even more to shout. I managed to though.

"Believe me," Roberta said raising my knife high in the air. "You'll thank me for this some day." In one swift thrust the blade was forced into my gut.

Is this what it feels like to die? I felt numbness taking hold over my body. I still felt a stinging pain, but it was fading. I glanced down at my knife. It was deep inside my gut. I soon saw it speeding towards me. I saw my insides, but only a brief second. Then I was floating. I was just going upwards; I couldn't tell where I was going.

I went up and up, past the stars and the planets. I was out of the galaxy and saw the white light. I was immediately forced to go back. I couldn't be accepted into Heaven until my body was resting peacefully in death's slumber.

* * *

My body opened its eyes. I was awake again. I lay motionless. I felt the chains coming off me. I wanted to move, so I forced my body to sit up. I was only able to do a quick jolt. I fell hard onto the cold floor. I lifted my hands and looked at them. I glanced down at my body and saw stitches. My insides had been stitched up. Why?

Who was I? What was going? I wanted to remember. I could only feel. I felt hate, sadness, and fear. But why? Maybe they would know something. I tried to talk, but couldn't speak. The only thing that came out was a 'ba.' It hurt at first, but the pain went away quickly.

I looked up to see someone walking towards me. This person was hooded and cloaked in black. The cloak shinned under the light. This person bent down next to me. I looked at her face. I knew her from somewhere. But where?

"Are you okay?" She asked me. Her voice seemed soothing. I still wanted to know who she was though.

I closed my eyes and a thought hard. I wanted to remember. I soon felt a sharp pain as i saw images racing through my head. Were these memories?

I was a little girl in school. No one wanted to play with me. They thought I was weird for eating a bug. I was made at this girl. I was forced to go to her house. I pulled off her Barbie's head. We had been enemies ever since. I got into a fight in fifth grade, with the same girl. She wouldn't stop teasing me. I got older. She was a popular cheerleader in high school. She hated me. She hated my friends. I went to her graduation. She had a name. It was…Meredith. She cahnged after teh crash, she was nicer.Why did everyone like her, but me?

I went to her party and got drunk. I drove when I wasn't supposed to, I crashed. She nearly died. I never drank again. I suppressed the memory. The zombies came. They nearly killed me. I came to the plaza. I found some people who had survived the attack. There was a break in. Someone was supposed to come for us. They couldn't make it. Then…the colt found me. It was their entire fault! They killed everyone!

Roberta placed a hand on my shoulder. I tried to keep the look of ignorance on my face. I wish she didn't have to touch me.

"Can you talk?" I looked up at her. I looked down at my arms. They were a little more bulkier. They made me stronger. It's time for my ultimate revenge. No one kills me and gets away with it!

* * *

Meredith is a copyrgithed character from my friends fanfciotn story, (BVD388) Wal-Mart of The Dead. Please read her story. Its worth the time. 


	11. Roberta's Death

I wasn't sure how I was going to escape, but I knew I needed to think of something immediately. I looked around the room. The room was black and silver. There were boxes surrounding the small confined space that we were at. I saw the three stone beds. The beds were stone colored, but had some engravings on it. I saw some tall candle stick holders with candles. They were my only source of light.

"Do you like it?" Roberta said. She had her hand on my shoulder again. Why did she have the urge to keep touching me? "Just think of it. We will rule the world one day. Everyone will be under our demise."

"But, how can we rule over the dead?" I asked. I tried to sound like I was still relearning everything. I knew she was going to give me more strange and bizarre answers. I wanted to know, it would buy me time at least. My eyes kept studying the surroundings.

"There will still be people alive you know. Everyone dies, but not right away. We brought them to life, we can send them back." Roberta told me.

"How?" I asked her, turning to see her face.

"With a curse of course. But we still need to get ready for the next step; one that involves us only. The next step is right after yours. Vampirism. It'll be his gift to us, a chance to live forever, and feast on those who have survived. Maybe even a chance to have complete control over all mortals."

They weren't going to stop. There were way too many problems that they were overlooking. I had too many questions to ask, and not enough time to ask. I turned around when I heard someone screaming. I saw a few members walking toward us carrying Carren. She was kicking and screaming, like I might have guessed. A few other men were behind them. They were holding onto the others. They were all caught now, and going to die; unless I did something. I hate when this happens to me.

I rolled my eyes and paused for a second. They forced Carren onto the stone bed first. Tammy was shoved into the cage I had once called my home. Rustle and Damion were dragged past me and chained onto the other two beds.

"I knew it was you. How dare you betray us! Even after we gave you shelter." Rustle was yelling at me. I took in a deep breathe and walked over to him. I bent down close to his ear.

"It's not over yet," I whispered to him. I winked at him then stepped to the side. Roberta was about to take my spot. I stopped her and placed an arm in front of her.

"Let me do it," I needed a weapon. This way, I could trick her into giving me back my knife. Roberta nodded then handed me my knife. I looked down at the sharp blade. They had cleaned since the last use. I could see my reflection.

Roberta grabbed a hold of my arm and pulled forward. She still had the same personality. I grabbed the blade in right fist. The others began their chanting. Roberta nudged me to do it. She wanted this over and done with. This was a test for me; a test to see if I was going to be loyal to them. If only they knew.

I held it above Rustle and I closed my eyes. Before too much time passed, I whipped around and stabbed Roberta in the side of her arm. She moved before I could do any real damage.

"You want to kill me?" Roberta asked. I nodded.

"I remember everything. I didn't like being killed much." I replied with my bitter tongue.

"Okay then, let's fight," she said," to the end."

I was soon grabbed by a few of the other colt members and dragged off a ways. I was thrown into a large area. I stood up and looked down at the ground. I was standing right atop a pentagram. It had been engraved in the ground. This had to have taken a long time to make.

"Yes, we've been planning this for ages. Everything is all set and ready Always has been." Roberta said walking into the pentagram. She slowly removed her cloak and tossed it off to the side. She stepped into the center of the pentagram.

"Well, are you ready to die?" Roberta asked. I saw hell in her eyes.

"After you," I replied, trying to sound brave. I gave her a little smirk. I wasn't sure if I was able to fool her or not.

Roberta and I circled each other for a brief moment or two. Then she came straight for me. She used her entire body force to knock me to the ground. She was atop of me. Her hands reached for my throat. I used my knife to cut her stomach. I grabbed her shoulders and forced off of me. I managed to cut her stomach, but didn't leave any serious injuries.

She stood up, and I got up quickly. I wasn't going to allow her the option of an easy target. She snapped her fingers. A man came toward the pentagram carrying a large rectangle box. She opened it slowly and pulled out a large samurai sword.

"Damn it!" I muttered to myself.

Roberta held onto the handle and took her ass kicking pose. All I had was a small knife now. This was completely unfair. I took in a deep breath and waited for her to make the first move. She stepped forward. She spun around and held the sword in both hands. She flung it around with her body and aimed straight at me. I dropped to my knees. As she came in to try and kill me, I tripped her using my right foot. She fell to the ground.

I was about to move atop of her, so I could reach her throat. Before I got anywhere near she used her sword on me. She cut my left shoulder. I knew she was aiming for my neck, but missed. I felt the blood coming out of my wound. The sudden slash cut me off guard and she managed to stand back up. She took another swing, but I moved before she could do anything. I jumped back onto my feet. I looked at her, now I was pissed.

There was a moment of pause, before we decided to charge at each other once more. I could feel the tension. I wondered if she was feeling nervous or afraid. I knew I was. But my feeling of rage was stronger. The feeling was mutual.

We both charged around the same time. She took a quick swing toward my left side. I suspected that she would try that. I ducked and spun around, holding my knife out. I was close enough now. I threw the knife at her neck. I missed, but it still punctured her right shoulder. I ran forward quickly and grabbed the sword from her.

I held it with two hands in the air, and closed my eyes. I forced it down into her chest. I opened my eyes to see that I had stabbed her in the heart. I pulled the knife back out of her. I felt a sudden emotion of sadness. Even though she was soulless and killing everyone all around me, she was still my friend.

Roberta stepped backwards a little and soon collapsed on the ground. She collapsed on the ground. She glanced down at her wounds, and saw the blood coming from the wounds I inflected on her.

"How could you?" Roberta turned to ask me. Her voice was weak and dying. "I thought we were friends. I just wanted you to have a better life then the one you had before."

"You still killed me though," I managed to say, even through my sadness. Why was it so hard to kill her? I had killed my parents without much remorse. Maybe it was a power she had, or something? Or maybe it was the fact that she did all this for me? I wasn't sure which.

Roberta's eyes rolled back and her head soon did the same. She was dead for sure. I heard screams and knew my friends were in danger. I had to save them. I just had to kill the rest of the colt to do it. They would be the ones to pay for all this. They took my friend. They killed everyone around me. They even killed me. They will pay dearly, and I knew just the ones to do it.


	12. Punishment For The Devil's Children

I ran out of the pentagram with Roberta's sword and towards my friends. The colt members were blocking my view. When I got within inches of them they moved to the side. I walked though the path they cleared for me. I saw Rustle. He was dead. I bent down towards Rustle. He sudden awoke as a zombie. He was trying to break free from the chains. Carren. Damion, and Tammy were the only left now.

I tried to move to help Damion and Carren. Tammy was halfway safe in the cage. Someone grabbed a hold of my throat before I could get far. He was behind me, so I couldn't do much to break free.

He pulled me backward and off to the side. The colt gathered around my friends. I tried to break away, but two others grabbed my wrists. Another forced the sword from my hand and tossed it off to the side. I tired to kick, but that didn't do a lot of damage.

They soon circled around Damion. Carren was sobbing uncontrollably. Damion screamed several cuss words and gave one last scream right before they killed him. They pulled out his heart. Carren took one glimpse and screamed. They did he same to her and forced me to watch. I tried my hardest to break free, but they just held on tighter. They shot Tammy twice. She was still alive, only barley. The last shot finished her off. I felt tears streaming down my eyes. I couldn't even save one.

They released me. I feel to my knees. I would have liked to have one alive, one that could help me, one that would have stayed and maybe understood me. No one was going to believe this. I was going to be alone and misunderstood for the rest of my life. I soon felt myself being filled with rage.

I stood up. The first to come within the closest range of my reach was a man. I grabbed a hold of his throat and picked him up. I stopped feeling empathy completely. I threw him against the wall. He fell to the ground. He landed in such a way that broke his back. It didn't kill him though.

I ran and grabbed the sword. I picked it up and turned around. I held it up toward the sky. One came running to try to stop me. She didn't see the sword in time to stop. I stabbed her in the stomach. The blade went straight through her body. I paused for a moment, and then I stood up. I pushed her off the blade.

I knew the ones who needed to have their revenge, and I was going to let them have it. I turned around and tried to get back into the main plaza. Several of the colt members tried to stop me from leaving. I made sure to take them. I cut and sliced as many as I could without completely killing them. They needed to be alive, but paralyzed.

I made it to the door that leads to inside the plaza. I placed my hand on the handle. Someone grabbed my hand. Before he could make a second move, I cut off his hand. He screamed and back off. I opened the door and walked through the plaza.

I was covered in blood and a few stitches had managed to fall out. I was full of anger. I walked over to the clothing store. The same one that I had first saw when I came to the plaza, where Mark and Peter were taken. I walked over to the front doors, the doors that lead outside.

I heard them clawing and scratching at the front door. I heard them. They knew where the food was, and they wanted it. I placed my hands over the doorknobs. I wasn't sure if they would be able to tell if I was one of them, or if they would kill me to. I was ready for death again.

With that last thought I pulled the doors open. Zombies ran inside the plaza. They ran past me and into the store. I turned to watch them running throughout the plaza. I walked back to where the back doors where. I figured that they would have locked it up by now. Afraid of what they created.

I pushed my way through hundreds of zombies and came to the door. I tightened my hand into a fist. I punched through the door as hard as I could. I had the strength of a zombie. I used my hand to find the door handle. I unlocked it and the door opened slowly. The zombies charged inside the storage room. I heard the screams and knew what was happening. They were being eaten alive.

The people they killed, do to their own beliefs, were now the cause of their demise. The one who died now had their revenge. The ones who truly needed the revenge were the ones who can't rest in peace, the ones whose bodies came back from the graves to eat others to stay alive. I turned and walked out of the plaza and out into the bright sunlight. Everything around me was grey and gloomy. Dust was flying everywhere. The sunlight was the only thing that was bright and close to anything happy. The end of the world, and I'm left to witness it.


	13. EpilogueThe End of a Race

Epilogue: This is credited to BVD388 and her story Wal-Mart of the dead and A Second Chance To Live Or Die

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Charlene walks to the middle of the street. She sees Wal-Mart and remembers what she heard over the radio. She also remembered what she saw on the roof. There were people there. She walks over to an old abandoned store that was nearby. That was her temporary home. She decided to see if what all they said was true. She stalked a zombie and took a bit out of his neck. It acutally nourished her hunger and didn't taste as bad as it might have seemed. They were right. She could walk among the dead and living freely. She decided to test the extent of her powers on someone inside the store. Shesaw atall girl with blonde hair. She talked to her. It was fun making her think that the zombies were telling her things. 

Later, they escaped in a bus. She secretly followed them in motorcycle that she stole. She kept a great distance from them, she just wanted to watch. She couldn't be part of life anymore. She didn't belong to the world of the living. She was forced to lonliness.She didn't know why she even cared though. It was something to live for, she assumed. She saw a girl trying to kill some boy. A chopper rescued them. On its side it read Flagstaff. She waited until the chopper was out of sight, andheaded to Flagstaff. She had to go back through Yuma once again. She went back to the plaza and found a black book of dark magic. She left a day or twolater to Flagstaff, after shefinished readingthe book.She found the safe zone.

She just hung back for a year and watched them, looking for the two that were fighting. She saw them out on a mission one day. They were supply's gathers and she was their caption.Charlene played a helpless dazzle in distress role shortly after. A team found her and brought her to the safe zone. There was a guy who helped her, she liked him. He brought her to the safe zone. She was stitched back up. She looked through thebook for the dark magic. She found a way to heal her wounds. She lied to her therapist and lived among the humans in Flagstaff. She secretly followed the girl, believed to be named Bianca, around for the other year. She just watched, never talked to her.She aslo watchedher friend from time to time, named Matt. She did bump into Marcie though, only once. Nothing much happened. A few days later, the guy she liked was bite. He died from it a month of so later. Charlene stayed in the darkness from then on. She just watched the two from a far off distance.

She managed to talk to this guy, that later tried to steal Bianca's ring. Only becuase of an accidental encounter. He seemed nice.She witnessed the fires that happened around the Flagstaff's supplies and security building. She used it as an excues to leave. She hadn't gotten far whena group of three people were sent out to find the run away people. One was the girl named Marcie. She decided to follow them, just out of curiosity. She wasn't sure why she even cared. She just wanted to know what was going on.

She was ableto hot wire a car and drive after them. She did her best to follow them and not get caught. She stayed in the background and watched everything,as if it was a movie. Life was a movie now, that she wasn't a part of anymore. She drove through the dirt and found ways to keep out of sight. She caught up with them and managed to get in a good view of what was going on. She saw Bianca and Marcie talking. She saw Marcie stab Bianca. Charlene found herself wondering what was going on with Bianca. Charlene thought Bianca was dead at first, but then she got back up. She watched Bianca stagger towardsa garbage dumpster. She heard her talking to someone…or was it herself? Charlene felt bad, but knew she didn't want to intervene. She didn't know what was going on. She wasonly watching from a distance.

She saw this guy come and help her, and take her inside a building. The only other thing she remembered was that thislarge guycame and someone kidnapped Bianca and that guy who helped her. She watched them leave. Charlene made an assumption as to where they went, Albuquerque New Mexico; the only place where you can get good and bloody revenge. Although, she didn't know what was going on. She began to think it was strange how trouble seemed to follow Bianca.

She waited in the arena bleachersfor a while. They eventually came. She thought it was a terrible way to end a life. So she decided to have a little fun. She walked around the fence for a while. She soonfound a spot that wasn't heavily guarded and found a way to open it. She let the zombies in. They ran for their prey andtheir prey ran like little rabbits.Charlene went back into the arena and stood in the bleachers, she ate some popcorn; as she watched the zombies eat theei running food. She stayed until the chaos died down, them she began her descent. She had heard of another safe zone that was a ways off, but close enough to walk to. She walked to Lubbock Texas. A place where she could do her black magic in secret, and watch the last few remaining, amd alive, humans try to live. Live what would be left of their lives and race.


	14. Bonus Material

Bonus Material:

Mini-Soundtrack

Redeemer by: Marilyn Manson

Falling Again by: Lacuna Coil

The Crimson by: Atreyu

Sweet Sacrifice by: Evanescence

American Witch by: Rob Zombie

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Behind the Laptop

Well, this is a new feature that I created. I got the idea from watching so many extra features off of movies. Anyhow, this was my first story on I got into fanfiction from a friend (Miss Queen B). I randomly decided to write a zombie story on this website. She kinda guided me through my first writing story on this site. It turned out ok, it's not perfect. What happened was I had started on it. Then, from lack of readers and reviews, I just decided to give up on it. It wasn't until months later I started it back up again. By this time I had forgotten most of what the story was about, so I had to go back and re-read the whole thing! Eventually I came to the final chapters. I then tried so hard to rush it, and cram the story into thirteen chapters. As a result, the ending is kinda confusing. Plus you the reader has a lack of connection to the main character. I learned to never rush the writing process after that.

From there I decided that I did have a few readers still interested in this story. So, I decided that reviews are nice, but not always necessary to have. I just decided to go ahead and continue writing stories on fanfiction. I hope that my other soon-to-be stories will do better then my first few. One can only hope!

P.S. If anyone wants to add this feature to their stories, feel free to. I'm not that proud that I'll make a big fuss of someone coping the idea of having bonus material at the end of a story.


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